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Report: Equifax faces criminal probe over stock sales

The DOJ has launched a criminal investigation into the Equifax breach, because three of its executives sold stock in the company after the company found out it had been hacked and before the company disclosed the breach, Bloomberg reports, citing "people familiar with the investigation."

The Securities and Exchange Commission is also said to be weighing in on the investigation.

Equifax and those executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They have previously said those executives "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares."

The personal identifying information of as many as 143 million Americans was compromised in the Equifax breach.

Why it matters: Stocks fell 35% after the breach was disclosed, but were little changed before that, in effect, making those stock trades beneficial for those top execs.